was a Japanese

Daimyo were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominally to ...

of the Azuchi-Momoyama period and

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)
"Kagami Kenkichi"
in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 544.

Biography

Hidemasa was born inside the

Owari Province was a province of Japan in the area that today forms the western half of Aichi Prefecture, including the modern city of Nagoya. The province was created in 646. Owari bordered on Mikawa, Mino, and Ise Provinces. Owari and Mino provinces w ...

in 1540, as the child of one of the servants of

Oda clan The is a Japanese samurai family who were daimyo and an important political force in the unification of Japan in the mid-16th century. Though they reached the peak of their power under Oda Nobunaga and fell soon after, several branches of the ...

. He became the de-facto owner of

Kishiwada Castle is a Japanese castle located in the city of Kishiwada, Osaka, Kishiwada, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. At the end of the Edo period, Kishiwada Castle was home to the Okabe clan, ''daimyō'' of Kishiwada Domain. The Honmaru Garden of the castle is ...

in July 1585 with 4,000

kokudaka refers to a system for determining land value for taxation purposes under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo-period Japan, and expressing this value in terms of ''koku'' of rice. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Koku"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 5 ...

, although he was considered a local magistrate at this period. He was given an additional 6000

koku The is a Chinese-based Japanese unit of volume. One koku is equivalent to 10 or approximately , or about of rice. It converts, in turn, to 100 shō and 1,000 gō. One ''gō'' is the traditional volume of a single serving of rice (before co ...

worth of land in the

Izumi Province :''The characters ''泉州'' are also used for the name of the Chinese city of Quanzhou''. was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan in the area of southern Osaka Prefecture. It bordered on Kii Province, Kii to the south, Yamato Province, Ya ...

in 1594. After Maeno Nagayasu lost power in 1595 due to

Toyotomi Hidetsugu was a during the Sengoku period of Japan. He was the nephew and retainer of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the unifier and ruler of Japan from 1590 to 1598. Despite being Hideyoshi's closest adult, male relative, Hidetsugu was accused of atrocities and at ...

seppuku , also known as , is a form of Japanese ritualistic suicide by disembowelment. It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honor, but was also practiced by other Japanese people during the Shōwa era (particularly officers near ...

after Hidetsugu was accused of plotting a rebellion, Hidemasa was given an additional 20,000 koku worth of land and became the official owner of the Kishiwada castle. After

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods and regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: ...

's death in 1598, Hidemasa was ordered to support

Toyotomi Hideyori was the son and designated successor of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the general who united all of Japan toward the end of the Sengoku period. His mother, Yodo-dono, was the niece of Oda Nobunaga. Early life Born in 1593, he was Hideyoshi's sec ...

and protect two gates in the

Osaka Castle is a Japanese castle in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. The castle is one of Japan's most famous landmarks and played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century of the Azuchi–Momoyama period. Layout Th ...

. After Hideyori moved from the

Fushimi Castle , also known as or Fushimi-Momoyama Castle, is a Japanese castle located in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto. Fushimi Castle was constructed from 1592 to 1594 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi at the end of the Sengoku period as his retirement residen ...

to the Osaka Castle in 1599, it was decided that Hidemasa, along with Ishikawa Sadakiyo, Ishida Masazumi, Ishikawa Yoriaki, and

Katagiri Katsumoto was a Japanese warlord (''daimyō'') of Ibaraki, in the Azuchi–Momoyama period through early Edo period. In his youth he was famed as one of the Seven Spears of Shizugatake, during the Battle of Shizugatake in May 1583. Biography Katsumoto ...

will be helpers of Hideyori. In January 1600, both Ishikawas and Ishida were removed from this position, leaving only two with this role left. Before the battle of

Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was an important battle in Japan which occurred on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu Prefecture, ...

, Hidemasa's second child, Hideie led 300 troops join the forces attacking

Uesugi Kagekatsu was a Japanese samurai ''daimyō'' during the Sengoku and Edo periods. He was the adopted son of Uesugi Kenshin and Uesugi Kagetora’s brother in law. Early life and rise Kagekatsu was the son of Nagao Masakage, the head of the Ueda Naga ...

. However, when

Ishida Mitsunari was a Japanese samurai and military commander of the late Sengoku period of Japan. He is probably best remembered as the commander of the Western army in the Battle of Sekigahara following the Azuchi–Momoyama period of the 16th century. He ...

rebelled, the rest of his children and Hidemasa himself sided Mitsunari. His children participated in the

Siege of Tanabe The siege of Tanabe in 1600 was one of a number of battles which took place in parallel to the more influential Sekigahara Campaign, which led to the unification of Japan under Tokugawa Ieyasu. History The command of Tanabe Castle was held b ...

and

Siege of Ōtsu The took place in 1600, concurrent with the battle of Sekigahara. Kyogoku Takatsugu, Kyōgoku Takatsugu held Otsu, Shiga, Ōtsu castle for the Tokugawa clan, Tokugawa, and commanded the garrison. Mōri Terumoto, Tachibana Muneshige, and rough ...

. After Mitsunari lost the clash at Sekigahara, Hidemasa and their children was about to face severe punishments. However, all lands owned by the Koide clan were kept due to Hideie's siding with the

Tokugawa clan The is a Japanese dynasty which produced the Tokugawa shoguns who ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868 during the Edo period. It was formerly a powerful ''daimyō'' family. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880) and were a branch of ...

in the battle of Sekigahara, with Hidemasa pardoned thanks to Hideyori. Hidemasa died at the age of 65 on April 21, 1604. His body was buried in Honkoku-ji, with the

Kishiwada Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Izumi Province in what is now the southern portion of modern-day Osaka Prefecture. It was centered around Kishiwada Castle and was controlled by the ''fudai dai ...

he ruled succeeded by Yoshimasa, his first son.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Koide, Hidemasa 1539 births 1604 deaths Daimyo People of the Muromachi period People of the Azuchi–Momoyama period People of the Edo period People from Nagoya